2010 Goals

I know it's a little late to be making New Year's resolutions, but that actually falls under one of the things I hope to work on this year...procrastination. I tend to put things off, and not just little things like laundry, dishes, and housework that can frankly wait and will always need to be done. But the big things, personal things, things of importance like faith, family, and self improvement. So, my hopes for 2010 are the following:

1. My Faith--something deeply personal and something easily pushed to the side and ignored when I stay too focused on the laundry, the dishes, and the housework. I remember when I first joined the church almost 14 years ago, I was much, much more diligent in my personal scripture study and prayer. I was eager and excited and wanted to know everything. I wasn't married, I didn't have kids or a house to run and when I wanted to read or pray, I did. Now with the demands of motherhood and wifedom I don't prioritize the way I used to, or need to. I don't make the time to cultivate my personal relationship with my faith and with my creator. I do the things that are "required" such as blessing the food at meals, family prayer at night and a Book of Mormon story before bed with the kids, but personally I am stagnant. So, this year I want to set a goal to read at least one chapter of scripture a day and say one personal prayer.

2. Patience--I don't have any. For the kids, for my husband, or for myself. I get easily frustrated and it affects everyone. I have been working on deep breathing and counting to ten and will continue to strive to not yell as much and be kinder and gentler to my family.

3. Weekly Date Night--The more kids we seem to have, the less time Matthew and I seem to spend one on one with each other. By the time all three kids are in bed, we are so exhausted that we seriously just fall into bed and pass out. I miss him. Our conversations, our jokes, our quiet moments of cuddling and watching T.V. We have been pretty good about going and doing something together every couple of weeks--we actually just spent the night in Phoenix this past weekend and it was really nice to get away. But we need to have one night a week that is just about us. My mom typically comes over every Wednesday to see the kids and give me a break so I can run errands, go to appointments, shop, or occasionally take a nap. She has graciously agreed to add evenings to Wednesdays so Matthew and I can go out together--to dinner, a cheap movie, or just to Barnes and Noble to browse (one of our favorite things to do.) I hope after the baby is born we are able to keep it up.

4. Cooking more and not just "heating" up a skillet meal or frying up hot dogs. I am rather obsessed with the food network and always see great recipes I want to try out. I am usually so wiped out by 5 pm that the last thing I want to do is make dinner, but the older my kids get the more I realize the importance of a good meal and time together around the dinner table. That is not to say I will never make hot dogs or kraft mac and cheese again, just not as frequently. I am learning that good food doesn't have to take a lot of time, cost a lot of money, or require tons of skill.

Here's hoping that I can tackle the procrastination so I can accomplish the rest :)

Ultrasound

This is a weird picture, I know...for some reason the baby was in a strange mermaid position. Despite that, the baby DOES have two legs, and ten fingers and ten toes and all organs functioning properly. The only mild complication that was detected was a low lying placenta that may or may not result in placenta previa the closer I get to delivering. I will go back at 30 weeks for another ultrasound to see if the placenta has moved higher, lower, or stayed the same. It is less than one centimeter from the cervix, and it needs to be one centimeter or higher above the cervix to avoid a problem. It could correct itself as my uterus continues to grow, or it could end up covering the cervix, which would mean a C-section. But, it isn't too much of a worry or concern at this point in the pregnancy.

As for the gender of the baby...that we have decided to make a surprise. Matthew really wanted to wait until the baby was born, and so that is what we are doing. So,despite his use of "he" when referring to the baby, the sex is still undetermined. I guess it looks like we'll just have to wait and see whose poll answers were right :)

Alphabet Book

This is my "homemade" alphabet book. I got the idea from my sister in law, Amanda, who made something similar for our niece Cambria for Christmas. It's a relatively easy, inexpensive, and fun way to introduce and teach your kids the alphabet. Aidan and Emma have really enjoyed looking at it and Aidan has almost all of his letters memorized--although I can't in good conscience take the credit for that, he's been in pre-school since the end of August. But, for Emma it's a head start on next year when she starts pre-school. If anyone is interested, the website can be found here Project Alphabet. I also made a numbers book, which can also be found on the project alphabet website.